Detecting excluded players and related systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A gaming system, computer-implemented method and gaming device are operable to determine player identification data corresponding to a player in a property corresponding to a selected one of multiple gaming operator nodes, compare the player identification data with each of multiple data blocks in a block chain to determine a match between the player identification data and one of the data blocks, and responsive determining that the player identification data matches one of the data blocks, send an alarm signal to a gaming operator that corresponds to the selected one of the gaming operator nodes.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Casinos may be favored targets for players seeking to gain advantage bycheating at games of chance. Significant efforts may be exercised todetect player that are cheating or trying to cheat. In response todetecting a cheating player, a casino may record informationcorresponding to the cheating player. Such information may be used toexclude a cheating player from future opportunities to play or cheat inthe casino. In this regard, many casinos have a local system to recordand detect excluded players. Further, some jurisdictions may have asystem for providing a local excluded player's list. However, suchsystems may be unable to detect excluded players playing in casinos inother jurisdictions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to some embodiments, a system includes a communicationinterface, a processor circuit and a memory coupled to the processorcircuit. The memory includes machine readable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor circuit, cause the processor circuit todetermine player identification data corresponding to a player in aproperty corresponding to a selected one of multiple gaming operatornodes, compare the player identification data with each of multiple datablocks in a block chain to determine a match between the playeridentification data and one of the data blocks, and responsivedetermining that the player identification data matches one of the datablocks, send an alarm signal to a gaming operator that corresponds tothe selected one of the gaming operator nodes.

Embodiments are directed to methods that perform operations includingreceiving, by a gaming operator node of multiple gaming operator nodes,player identification data corresponding to a player in a propertycorresponding to the gaming operator node. Operations include generatinghashed player identification data using a given hash code and/oralgorithm that is applied to the player identification data anddetermining if the hashed player identification data matches any ofmultiple data blocks in a block chain that is stored by all of thegaming operator nodes. Each of the data blocks corresponds to a personon an excluded person list.

Embodiments are directed to a system that includes multiple gamingoperator nodes that each access a block chain of excluded players. Theblock chain includes multiple data blocks that each correspond to anexcluded player. Each of the gaming operator nodes includes acommunication interface, a processor circuit and a memory coupled to theprocessor circuit. The memory includes machine readable instructionsthat, when executed by the processor circuit, cause the processorcircuit to submit new excluded player data for inclusion into the blockchain as a new data block and, responsive to the new excluded playerdata satisfying a consensus mechanism, upload the new excluded playerdata to the block chain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a system architectureaccording to some embodiments herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a casino management system including a plurality ofgaming devices according to some embodiments herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates various components of acomputing device 300, which may embody or be included as part of thedevices, systems, and/or components above, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating operations for systempermission of casinos and/or other gaming venue operators in theconsortium block chain according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating operations of a systemfor creating and synchronizing shared excluded player data according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating operations of a systemfor utilizing the block chain to detect excluded players according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operations of systems/methodsaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating operations of systems/methodsaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating various components of acomputing device according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments herein are directed to various systems, devices and methodsto solve the problem of sharing and detecting excluded players. In thismanner, a technical solution to the problem of detecting excludedplayers in a casino is provided. As used herein, the term “casino” mayinclude an organization, premises, property and/or structure that mayprovide real and/or virtual gaming features, devices, systems and/oropportunities for players to participate in gaming activities. In someembodiments, a decentralized management system is provided that may beable to share the excluded players among multiple different casinos,prevent the list from being tampered with, update the list, and quicklyuse the list to detect excluded an excluded player.

Systems and methods disclosed herein may provide that a casino generatesdata corresponding to an excluded player. Data may include personallyidentifiable information, information about specific products orservices in which an excluded player may be enrolled, statisticalinformation about the excluded player, biographical information of theexcluded player, biometric information of the excluded player, and thelike. For example, data may include any of the following information foreach excluded player, if acquired and recorded: legal name, maiden name,aliases, physical address(es), email address(es), telephone numbers,financial account names, financial account numbers, social securitynumber, driver's license number, height, hair color, eye color, age,birthdate, spouse or other family information, biometric information,previous addresses, previous financial accounts or financial products,and the like.

A casino management system may detect excluded player data to determineif the excluded player data meets a consensus mechanism, such as aPractical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) mechanism. If the excludedplayer data meets the consensus mechanism, then the shared data may beuploaded to a consortium blockchain. In some embodiments, the consortiummay be a group of casino and/or other gaming venue operators that agreeto specific terms for accessing, using and/or submitting to the blockchain corresponding to excluded players. If the excluded player datadoes not meet the consensus mechanism, then the data is not uploaded.Other casinos in the consortium may synchronize the shared data to acasino management system locally for detecting and identifying excludedplayers.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic block diagramillustrating a system architecture according to some embodiments herein.Each of the multiple different casinos may include a casino managementsystem 10 that may have access to a decentralized data source that isprovided as a block chain 200. The block chain 200 may include multipledifferent data blocks that each correspond to a different excludedplayer. In some embodiments, each casino management system 10 may storeor cause to be stored an instance of the block chain 200, which mayinclude a communication channel 210 to the block chain 200. In thismanner, each casino management system may be communicatively coupled,directly and/or indirectly, to every other casino management system inthe consortium. Although not illustrated in this figure, someembodiments provide that intervening networks may be included in thecommunication channel 210. Updated and/or new excluded player data maybe uploaded via the communication channel 210 to the block chain 200based on consensus that the update and/or new excluded player data meetsa consensus requirement.

Data corresponding to the block chain 200 may be used by receivingplayer data through server, such as, a detection server 230. Thedetection server 230 may receive player data and analyze the player datato determine if the player data corresponds to an excluded player thatis identified in the block chain 200. Although illustrated as a separateserver, the detection server 230 may be within the casino managementsystem 10.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which illustrates a casino managementsystem 10 including a plurality of gaming devices 100. The casinomanagement system 10 may be located, for example, on the premises of agaming establishment, such as a casino, in a private residence, or mayinclude components that are located at different locations. The gamingdevices 100 may be in communication with each other and/or a centralcontroller 49 through a data communication network 50, or remotecommunication link. The data communication network 50 may be a privatedata communication network that is operated, for example, by the gamingfacility that operates the gaming device 100, a publicly accessible datacommunication network such as the Internet, or a combination thereof.Communications over the data communication network 50 may be encryptedfor security. The central controller 49 may be any suitable server orcomputing device which includes at least one processor circuit, such asa processor, and at least one memory or storage device. Each gamingdevice 100 may include a processor circuit that transmits and receivesevents, messages, commands or any other suitable data or signal betweenthe gaming device 100 and the central controller 49 and/or other gamingdevices 100. The gaming device processor is operable to execute suchcommunicated events, messages or commands in conjunction with theoperation of the gaming device 100. Moreover, the processor of thecentral controller 49 is configured to transmit and receive events,messages, commands or any other suitable data or signal between thecentral controller 49 and each of the individual gaming devices 100. Insome embodiments, one or more of the functions of the central controller49 may be performed by one or more gaming device processors. Moreover,in some embodiments, one or more of the functions of one or more gamingdevice processors as disclosed herein may be performed by the centralcontroller 49.

A wireless access point 60 provides wireless access to the datacommunication network 50. The wireless access point 60 may be connectedto the data communication network 50 as illustrated in FIG. 2, or may beconnected directly to the central controller 49 or another serverconnected to the data communication network 50.

One or more content servers, such as a gaming content server 80, mayalso be connected through the data communication network 50. Similarly,the gaming content server 80 may manage delivery of the gaming contentto the user of a gaming device 100. The gaming content may be stored ina gaming content database 85. A block chain server 70 may manage access,update, storage, consensus determination, and/or excluded playeridentification corresponding to the consortium block chain 200. Theblock chain data may be stored in a block chain database 75. The blockchain server 70 and a gaming content server 80 may be implemented withinor separately from each other. The block chain server 70 and a gamingcontent server 80 may also be implemented within or separately from thecentral controller 49.

A player tracking server 90 may also be connected through the datacommunication network 50. The player tracking server 90 may manage aplayer tracking account that tracks the gameplay and spending and/orother player preferences and customizations of a player, i.e., the userof the gaming device 100, manages loyalty awards for the player, managesfunds deposited or advanced on behalf of the player, and otherfunctions. Player information managed by the player tracking server 90may be stored in a player information database 95. In some embodiments,the player information database 95 and/or the player tracking server 90may include and/or provide information that may be used by the blockchain server 70 to detect excluded players. For example, datacorresponding to an excluded player may be received responsive to theexcluded player submitting and/or inserting a player tracking card to agaming table or machine.

The gaming devices 100 communicate with one or more elements of thesystem 10 to coordinate providing streaming video content andsynchronized gaming content. For example, in some embodiments, a gamingdevice 100 may communicate directly with another gaming device 100 overa wireless interface 62, which may be a WiFi link, a Bluetooth link, anNFC link, etc. In other embodiments, the gaming device 100 maycommunicate with the data communication network 50 (and devicesconnected thereto, including EGMs) over a wireless interface 64 with thewireless access point 60. The wireless interface 64 may include a WiFilink, a Bluetooth link, an NFC link, etc. In still further embodiments,the gaming device 100 may communicate with other gaming devices 100 orother devices over the wireless interface 62 and the wireless accesspoint 60 over the wireless interface 64. In these embodiments, thewireless interface 62 and the wireless interface 64 may use differentcommunication protocols and/or different communication resources, suchas different frequencies, time slots, spreading codes, etc. For example,in some embodiments, the wireless interface 62 may be a Bluetooth link,while the wireless interface 64 may be a WiFi link.

The wireless interfaces 62, 64 allow the gaming devices 100 and/orcentral controller 49 to coordinate providing player data from gamingdevices 100.

Reference is now to FIG. 3, which is a block diagram that illustratesvarious components of a computing device 300, which may embody or beincluded as part of the devices, systems, and/or components above,according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 3, the computing device300 may include a processor circuit 310 that controls operations of thecomputing device 300. Although illustrated as a single processor,multiple special purpose and/or general-purpose processors and/orprocessor cores may be provided in the computing device 300. Forexample, the computing device 300 may include one or more of a videoprocessor, a signal processor, a sound processor and/or a communicationcontroller that performs one or more control functions within thecomputing device 300. The processor circuit 310 may be variouslyreferred to as a “controller,” “microcontroller,” “microprocessor” orsimply a “computer.” The processor circuit 310 may further include oneor more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Various components of the computing device 300 are illustrated in FIG. 3as being connected to the processor circuit 310. It will be appreciatedthat the components may be connected to the processor circuit 310 and/oreach other through one or more buses 312 including a system bus, acommunication bus and controller, such as a USB controller and USB bus,a network interface, or any other suitable type of connection.

The computing device 300 further includes a memory device 314 thatstores one or more functional modules 320 for performing the operationsdescribed above. Alternatively, or in addition, some of the operationsdescribed above may be performed by other devices connected to thenetwork, such as the network 50 of the system 10 of FIG. 2, for example.The computing device 300 may communicate with other devices connected tothe network to facilitate performance of some of these operations. Forexample, the computing device 300 may communicate and coordinate withcertain displays to identify elements of a race being displayed by aparticular display.

The memory device 314 may store program code and instructions,executable by the processor circuit 310, to control the computing device300. The memory device 314 may include random access memory (RAM), whichcan include non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), magnetic RAM (ARAM), ferroelectricRAM (FeRAM) and other forms as commonly understood in the gamingindustry. In some embodiments, the memory device 314 may include readonly memory (ROM). In some embodiments, the memory device 314 mayinclude flash memory and/or EEPROM (electrically erasable programmableread only memory). Any other suitable magnetic, optical and/orsemiconductor memory may operate in conjunction with the gaming devicedisclosed herein.

The computing device 300 may include a communication adapter 326 thatenables the computing device 300 to communicate with remote devices,such as the wireless network, another computing device 300, and/or awireless access point, over a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),cellular communication network, or other data communication network,e.g., the network 50 of FIG. 2.

The computing device 300 may include one or more internal or externalcommunication ports that enable the processor circuit 310 to communicatewith and to operate with internal or external peripheral devices, suchas a sound card 328 and speakers 330, video controllers 332, a primarydisplay 334, a secondary display 336, input buttons 338 or other devicessuch as switches, keyboards, pointer devices, and/or keypads, a touchscreen controller 340, a card reader 342, currency acceptors and/ordispensers, cameras, sensors such as motion sensors, mass storagedevices, microphones, haptic feedback devices, and/or wirelesscommunication devices. In some embodiments, internal or externalperipheral devices may communicate with the processor through auniversal serial bus (USB) hub (not shown) connected to the processorcircuit 310. Although illustrated as being integrated with the computingdevice 300, any of the components therein may be external to thecomputing device 300 and may be communicatively coupled thereto.Although not illustrated, the computing device 300 may further include arechargeable and/or replaceable power device and/or power connection toa main power supply, such as a building power supply.

In some embodiments, the computing device 300 may include a head mounteddevice (HMD) and may include optional wearable add-ons that include oneor more sensors and/or actuators. Including ones of those discussedherein. The computing device 300 may be a head-mounted mixed-realitydevice configured to provide mixed reality elements as part of areal-world scene being viewed by the user wearing the computing device300.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations for system permission of casinos and/or othergaming venue operators in the consortium block chain according to someembodiments. Some embodiments include receiving a request to join theconsortium block chain (block 402). Prior to receiving the request, acasino system management node may generate the consortium block chain.Some embodiments provide that the system is decentralized, theconsortium block chain may be generated by a gaming operator node.Requests to join the consortium block chain may be evaluated bydetecting compliance with the consortium block chain multipartyagreement (block 404). Detecting compliance may include coordinatingorganization changes between multiple parties and identifying mechanismsfor adding data blocks in the block chain based on the multipartyagreement. A determination is made as to whether the casino meets therequirements of multiparty agreement (block 406). The requirements mayinclude definitions of processes, thresholds, protocols, accesspolicies, security procedures, and/or equipment standards, among others.If the casino meets the terms of the multiparty agreement, then thecasino may be invited to join the consortium block chain (block 410). Incontrast, if the casino does not meet the terms of the multipartyagreement, then a refusal message may be sent (block 408).

As provided herein, the multiparty agreement may further identify whichhierarchies, if any, a new data resource should be added to and thelocation within the hierarchy that the resource data resource should beadded. In some embodiments, organization changes between multipleparties may be defined including mechanisms to approve a change to theorganization. For example, the multiparty agreement may define anauthenticated 2-way handshake mechanism to confirm or deny a potentialchange to an organization. Further mechanisms defined for multipartyagreements may include emailed invitations, single use tokens, and/orshared secrets (domains/passwords), among others.

In some embodiments, once a requesting casino is invited to join theconsortium block chain, the multiparty agreement may be renegotiatedand/or re-executed to include data corresponding to a new consortiumblock chain member (block 412).

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations of a system for creating and synchronizingshared excluded player data according to some embodiments. Operationsinclude generating new shared data corresponding to an excluded player(block 502). For example, a casino may be a consortium block chainmember operating as node in a system for detecting excluded players mayidentify a player as a cheating player that should be excluded fromfuture casino play.

In such embodiments, it is determined whether the new shared data meetsa consensus (block 504). In a blockchain configuration, there arevarying consensus algorithms that can be used. For example, a privateblockchain may choose an algorithm such as Practical Byzantine FaultTolerance (PBFT). The PBFT mechanism may be useful for small networks,such as networks having fewer than about 100 nodes. Other examplesinclude a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm and/or a Proof ofStake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which may be used as the value of anunderlying data block and/or value changes.

If the new shared data of the excluded player does not meet theconsensus (block 506), then the operations may include refusing toupload the shared data to the block chain. Some embodiments provide thatfeedback data is sent to the consortium block chain member thatsubmitted the new shared data. In some embodiments, the feedback datamay identify a portion of the new shared data that was the basis for thenew shared data not meeting the consensus mechanism. In someembodiments, the consensus may be based on the approval of a percentageof all of the consortium block chain members. For example, someembodiments provide that at least thirty percent of the consortium blockchain members must evaluate the new shared data and determine that thenew shared data meets the consensus mechanism. Some embodiments providethat more or less than thirty percent of the consortium block chainmembers must evaluate the new shared data and determine that the newshared data meets the consensus mechanism

If the new shared data of the excluded player does meet the consensus(block 506), then the new shared data is uploaded into the block chainfor synchronization by other casinos (block 510). Some embodimentsprovide that every time a change is made to the block chain, the blockchain is synchronized by and/or sent to each consortium block chainmember. Some embodiments provide that every time a change is made to theblock chain, the change is sent to each for the consortium block chainmembers to synchronize their own instances of the block chain. In eithercircumstance, the updated block chain may be stored in a data repositorythat is local to the casino and/or consortium block chain member's venue(block 512). In this manner, the most updated version of the block chainmay be decentralized and locally available for use by consortium blockchain members.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations of a system for utilizing the block chain todetect excluded players according to some embodiments. Operationsinclude receiving player identification data that corresponds to aplayer in a casino (block 602). In some embodiments, the playeridentification data is received responsive to the player providing aplayer loyalty card to a casino operator or equipment. The playerloyalty card may include data that identifies the player to the casino.In some embodiments, the player may be identified by the casinomanagement system using other technologies including, for example,facial recognition and/or gait recognition, among others. Someembodiments provide that a player identification may be determined fromthe player using non-cash payment methods for paying for goods and/orservices within the casino.

Some embodiments provide that the player has a player identificationnumber that may be assigned by the casino and/or may correspond to agovernment issued identification. Once the player is identified, thecasino management system may compute a hash code of the playeridentification number using the same hashing algorithm that excludedplayer data is hashed in the block chain (block 604). The casinomanagement system then determines if the hashed player identificationnumber matches any of the excluded players in the block chain (block606). For example, the hashed player identification number may becompared to hashed identification numbers that are in the block chainand that correspond to excluded players.

If the player is determined to be an excluded player that is identifiedin the block chain (block 608), then an alarm signal may be sent tocasino personnel and/or systems (block 610). If the player is determinednot to be an excluded player that is identified in the block chain(block 608), then the player may be allowed to continue to play (block612).

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations of systems and methods according to someembodiments. Operations may include determining player identificationdata corresponding to a player in a property (block 702). In someembodiments, the player identification data may be determined using aplayer specific loyalty card that is received from the player.

In some embodiments, the property may correspond to a selected one ofmultiple gaming operator nodes. In some embodiments, gaming operatornodes include a consortium that accesses a block chain of datacorresponding to excluded players.

In some embodiments, operations include receiving a requestcorresponding to a non-member of the consortium, detecting whether thenon-member satisfies a multi-party block chain agreement, and responsiveto the non-member satisfying the multi-party block chain agreement,adding the non-member to the consortium. Some embodiments provide that,responsive to the non-member not satisfying the multi-party block chainagreement, denying the non-member access to the block chain.

Operations may include comparing the player identification data witheach of multiple data blocks that are in a block chain to determine amatch between the player identification data and one of the data blocks(block 704). In some embodiments, each data block includes a hashcode ofplayer identification data of each one of multiple excluded persons.Excluded persons may include players that are excluded based on previousunwanted behaviors, skills, and/or activities at a casino. Non-limitingexamples of unwanted behaviors, skills, and/or activities includecheating, attempts at cheating, theft, fraud, disruption and/or anyother unwanted conduct. Some embodiments provide that before the playeridentification data is compared to the data blocks in the block chain, ahashing operation of the player identification data is performed on theplayer identification data using the same hashcode and/or same hashingalgorithm that is used in the data blocks in the block chain.

In response to determining that the player identification data matchesone of the data blocks in the block chain, an alarm signal may be sentto a gaming operator that corresponds to the associated one of thegaming operator nodes (block 706). Some embodiments provide that thealarm signal includes player identification data corresponding to theplayer in the property being identified as one of the excluded persons.

Operations may include receiving, via the communication interface andfrom a submitting gaming operator node that is one of the gamingoperator nodes, a first data block that corresponds to an identity of anexcluded person (block 708). Some embodiments provide that operationsinclude determining whether to add the first data block to the blockchain (block 710). The block chain may include multiple data blocks thateach correspond to a different excluded person. In some embodiments,determining whether to add the first data block to the block chainincludes evaluating the first data block based on a consensus mechanismthat determines agreement level corresponding to the first data block.Some embodiments provide that the gaming operator nodes include aconsortium that accesses the block chain and that the consensusmechanism includes approval corresponding to a percentage of a quantityof the gaming operator nodes. For example, some embodiments require thatthirty percent of the gaming operator nodes approve of adding the firstdata block to the block chain to meet the consensus mechanism. Someother embodiments require more or less than thirty percent of the gamingoperator nodes to approve of adding the first data block to the blockchain to meet the consensus mechanism.

In some embodiments, the consensus mechanism includes a PracticalByzantine Fault Tolerance mechanism. Some embodiments provide that,responsive to determining that the first data block satisfies theconsensus mechanism, uploading the first data block into the block chain(block 712). Once the first data block is uploaded into the block chain,a synchronization of all of the gaming operator nodes may be performedto include the first data block in the block chain and cause the blockchain to be stored at each of the gaming operator nodes.

In some embodiments, in response to determining that the first datablock does not satisfy the consensus mechanism, a failed consensusmessage is sent to the submitting gaming operator node.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations of systems and methods according to someembodiments. Operations may include receiving, by a gaming operator nodeof multiple gaming operator nodes, player identification datacorresponding to a player (block 802). In some embodiments, the playeris in a property corresponding to the gaming operator node.

Operations include generating hashed player identification data (block804). Some embodiments provide that the hashed player identificationdata is generated using a given hash code that is applied to the playeridentification data.

Operations include determining if the hashed player identification datamatches any data blocks in a block chain (block 806). In someembodiments, the block chain is stored by each the gaming operatornodes. Some embodiments provide that each of the data blocks in theblock chain corresponds to a person on an excluded person list.

In response to determining that the player identification data matchesone of the data blocks in the block chain, an alarm signal may be sentto a gaming operator that corresponds to the gaming operator node. Someembodiments include sending, to other ones of the gaming operator nodes,new excluded player data for evaluation regarding a consensus mechanism(block 808). In some embodiments, responsive to satisfying the consensusmechanism, the new excluded player data is uploaded as a new data blockin the block chain. In some embodiments, the other gaming operator nodesmay synchronize to include the new data block into the block chain thatis stored locally.

In response to uploading the new excluded player data as the new datablock in the block chain, operations may include analyzing playeridentification data corresponding to currently active players that arecurrently on the property corresponding to the gaming operator node. Insome embodiments, the player identification data includes facial and/orgait recognition data. Some embodiments provide that the gaming operatornodes each store the block chain locally.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which is a schematic flow diagramillustrating operations of systems and methods according to someembodiments. Operations include submitting new excluded player data forinclusion into the block chain as a new data block (block 902). Inresponse to the new excluded player data satisfying a consensusmechanism, uploading the new excluded player data to the block chain(block 904). Operations include determining player identification datacorresponding to a player in a property corresponding to the gamingoperator node (block 906) and comparing the player identification datato data blocks in the block chain (block 908).

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number ofpatentable classes or context including any new and useful process,machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and usefulimprovement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure maybe implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardwareimplementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized.The computer readable media may be a computer readable signal medium ora computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage mediummay be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium wouldinclude the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriateoptical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable instruction executionapparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that when executed can direct a computer, otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in thecomputer readable medium produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement thefunction/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or otherdevices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The flowchart and block diagrams in the figuresillustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possibleimplementations of systems, methods, and computer program productsaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard,each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module,segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executableinstructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). Itshould also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagramsand/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularaspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may bedesignated as “/”. Like reference numbers signify like elementsthroughout the description of the figures.

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connectionwith the above description and the drawings. It will be understood thatit would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe andillustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments.Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/orcombination, and the present specification, including the drawings,shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of allcombinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein,and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shallsupport claims to any such combination or subcombination.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a communication interface; aprocessor circuit; and a memory coupled to the processor circuit, thememory comprising machine readable instructions that, when executed bythe processor circuit, cause the processor circuit to: determine playeridentification data corresponding to a player in a propertycorresponding to a selected one of a plurality of gaming operator nodes;compare the player identification data with each of a plurality of datablocks in a block chain to determine a match between the playeridentification data and one of the plurality of data blocks; andresponsive determining that the player identification data matches oneof the plurality of data blocks, send an alarm signal to a gamingoperator that corresponds to the selected one of the plurality of gamingoperator nodes.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor circuitfurther receives, via the communication interface and from a submittinggaming operator node that is one of the plurality of gaming operatornodes, a first data block, the first data block corresponding to anidentity of an excluded person.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein theprocessor circuit further determines whether to add the first data blockto the block chain that comprises the plurality of data blocks, each ofthe plurality of data blocks corresponding to a different excludedperson.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein instructions that cause theprocessor circuit to determine whether to add the first data block tothe block chain cause the processor circuit to evaluate the first datablock based on a consensus mechanism that determines agreement levelcorresponding to the first data block.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinthe plurality of gaming operator nodes comprises a consortium thataccesses the block chain, and wherein the consensus mechanism comprisesapproval corresponding to a percentage of a quantity of the plurality ofgaming operator nodes.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the consensusmechanism comprises a Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance mechanism. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein responsive to determining that the firstdata block satisfies the consensus mechanism, the processor circuitfurther uploads the first data block into the block chain which resultsin a synchronization of all of the plurality of gaming operator nodes tocomprise the first data block and causing the block chain to be storedat each of the plurality of gaming operator nodes.
 8. The system ofclaim 4, wherein responsive to determining that the first data blockdoes not satisfy the consensus mechanism, the processor circuit refusesthe first data block, and wherein the processor circuit further sends afailed consensus message to the submitting gaming operator node.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein each data block in the plurality of datablocks comprises a hashcode of player identification data of each of aplurality of excluded persons, wherein before the player identificationdata is compared to the plurality of data blocks, the processor circuitfurther performs a hashing operation of the player identification datausing the hashcode used in the plurality of data blocks in the blockchain.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the alarm signal comprisesplayer identification data corresponding to the player in the propertybeing identified as one of a plurality of excluded persons.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gaming operator nodescomprises a consortium that accesses the block chain, wherein theprocessor circuit further: receives a request corresponding to anon-member of the consortium; detects whether the non-member satisfies amulti-party block chain agreement; responsive to the non-membersatisfying the multi-party block chain agreement, adds the non-member tothe consortium; and responsive to the non-member not satisfying themulti-party block chain agreement, denies the non-member access to theblock chain.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the processorcircuit to determine player identification data corresponding to theplayer in the property causes the processor circuit to determine theplayer identification data using a player specific loyalty card that isreceived from the player.
 13. A method comprising: receiving, by agaming operator node of a plurality of gaming operator nodes, playeridentification data corresponding to a player in a propertycorresponding to the gaming operator node; generating hashed playeridentification data using a given hash code that is applied to theplayer identification data; and determining if the hashed playeridentification data matches any of a plurality of data blocks in a blockchain that is stored by all of the plurality of gaming operator nodes,wherein each of the plurality of data blocks corresponds to a person onan excluded person list.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein responsiveto determining that the player identification data matches one of theplurality of data blocks, sending an alarm signal to a gaming operatorthat corresponds to the gaming operator node.
 15. The method of claim13, further comprising sending, to other ones of the plurality of gamingoperator nodes, new excluded player data for evaluation regarding aconsensus mechanism, wherein responsive to satisfying the consensusmechanism, uploading the new excluded player data as a new data block inthe block chain and causing other ones of the plurality of gamingoperator nodes to synchronize to comprise the new data block into theblock chain.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein responsive to uploadingthe new excluded player data as the new data block in the block chain,the method further comprises analyzing player identification datacorresponding to currently active players that are currently on theproperty corresponding to the gaming operator node.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the player identification data comprises facialrecognition data.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein ones of theplurality of gaming operator nodes each store the block chain locally.19. A system comprising: a plurality of gaming operator nodes that eachaccess a block chain of excluded players, wherein the block chaincomprises a plurality of data blocks that each corresponds to anexcluded player, and wherein each of the plurality of gaming operatornodes comprises: a communication interface; a processor circuit; and amemory coupled to the processor circuit, the memory comprising machinereadable instructions that, when executed by the processor circuit,cause the processor circuit to: submit new excluded player data forinclusion into the block chain as a new data block, and responsive tothe new excluded player data satisfying a consensus mechanism, uploadthe new excluded player data to the block chain.
 20. The system of claim19, wherein the processor circuit in each of the plurality of gamingoperator nodes is further caused to: determine player identificationdata corresponding to a player in a property corresponding to the gamingoperator node, and compare the player identification data to data blocksin the block chain.